Billed as a Sports Activity Coupé, the Paceman is the seventh variant of BMW's Mini and will cost from £18,970 to £24,290 when it goes on sale on March 16 next year.

According to Mini, it offers an innovative combination of sporty, extrovert design, hallmark Mini driving fun and an exclusive interior ambience. Cynics would say it's a two-door, coupé version of the Countryman.

Like that vehicle, the Paceman will be available with front- or all-wheel drive, with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard and the option of a six-speed automatic.

Two petrol and two diesel engines will be offered initially, with a high-performance John Cooper Works version due later. The base model Cooper (£18,970) has a 1.6-litre petrol engine developing 122bhp. The Cooper S has a turbocharged version of the same engine with 184bhp and costs £22,355 with a four-wheel drive ALL4 version at £23,610

The diesels start at £20,210 for the 1.6-litre Cooper D with 112bhp (ALL4 version £21,400). The higher performance Cooper SD has a 2.0-litre diesel developing 143bhp and costs £23,070 (£24,290 with all-wheel drive).